Running news recap: Rethinking race entry selection

Many runners who qualified were surprised and disappointed to learn they had been shut out of the race. Courtesy of BAA.

As a growing number of runners clamor for participation in top races, running clubs are reassessing the methods used to accept applicants for their events.

Earlier this week members of the New York Road Runners club slammed NYRR officials on the club’s Facebook page for favoring out-of-town runners in its lottery system for entry to the NYC Half-Marathon.

Meanwhile, today’s Boston Globe reports that the Boston Athletic Association is making the “necessary adjustments’’ and “a few innovative approaches” to ensure that runners who qualify aren’t necessarily closed out due to a slow Internet connection. Registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon closed in a record eight hours and three minutes.

Details on the changes are reported below:

McGillivray: BAA will make adjustments: “The belief that computer speed (and Internet access on registration day) is as important as foot speed — and that the registration system is unfair — is forcing the Boston Athletic Association to make changes. And changes to the world’s oldest annual marathon do not come easily.”

The Corrections: “The 12 most common, performance-defeating fitness mistakes—and how to fix them.”

Spreading the Gospel about good running form: “While shortcomings in your form may not be the only thing standing between you and an Olympic berth, they could be keeping you from reaching your full potential and staying injury-free.”

2 Responses

At the bottom of the “Corrections” article, several commenters try to debunk what the writer says about eating carbs. These commenters are totally missing the point!

The article is not advocating carbs because carbs have less calories (4 vs. 9). Rather, the article is advocating carbs because carbs are more EFFICIENTLY broken down into usable energy than fats are. Burning fat requires more oxygen than burning carbs does. To take in more oxygen, you have to run slower. When a marathoner hits the proverbial “wall,” they are not just hitting a mental wall. They are hitting a physical one. What’s happening is that their body has run out of stored glycogen (carbs) and must now slow down in order to consume the greater amount of oxygen required for breaking down fat.

Carbs allow you to run FASTER! In the commenters obsession with weight, they fail to read this article correctly.